


Holding Out For A Hero

by messinadress



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-11 13:02:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4436513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messinadress/pseuds/messinadress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver and Felicity finally get to a good place post "I love you"but someone from the past screws it up. Question is, is it his past or her past? And can Oliver and Felicity find their way back to each other following the events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sara is not dead. However, Laurel is still the Black Canary. Slight rewrite of the beginning of season 3 with canon elements.

It had been two months since he defeated Slade,two months since he had told her he loved her as a ruse to trick Slade so they could inject him with the cure and it had also been two months that he had not told her that it was true, he loved her. Of course he loved her, so much his heart aches at the thought of not being with her. Once he said the words out loud there was no going back, he could no longer deny what is in his heart. The problem was she still thought it was just a ruse, she thought it was fake and he was a coward for letting her think that.

Everytime he gets up the courage to tell her something comes up. Between Arrow business, try to find Thea and trying to get QC back there hasn’t really been a right moment to let her know. Plus, Laurel’s on the team now and he can see that fear in her eyes that she had when Sara came back. He hated that look. How could she not know she was irreplaceable on the team and in his heart?

He could could not turn his thoughts off so he decided to go on patrol that evening. He took Roy along, he was worried about Thea so he knew he could use some turning his thoughts off too. Dig went home to a very pregnant Lyla and Laurel had a big case to work on. The patrol ended up being a bust so he sent Roy home when they got back to the lair.It was just him and Felicity now, like it was most nights lately. Things had went back to normal somehow after their conversation on the beach.She almost acted unaffected, which was strange. Did she not love him? Probably not he thought sadly. But with Roy’s words echoing in his head he decided to take a chance.

*Earlier that night*

Why don’t you just tell her you’re in love with her? I mean it’s obvious, but you probably need to use actual words." 

“Hey Felicity”  
“Almost done then I’ll get out of your way.”  
“You don’t have to. Get out of my way I mean. You’re not in my way so---”  
“I’m usually the babbler in this relationship.” She shook her head quickly. “Not that I’m implying we have a relationship”, she smiled sadly before continuing, “ I mean we have a working relationship technically although I’m probably going to leave that off my resume, can you imagine? The Arrow’s partner… Anyway I’m assuming you want to discuss Arrow business so I’ll shut up.”  


Oliver could help the grin that overtook his face, “No Felicity this is not Arrow business or QC related or Thea related.”  
“Color me intrigued”  
“ It about you. I wanted to…”  
She cut him off, “Oh God, am I getting fired. Of course you don’t need me anymore you have Laurel”  


“STOP” he yelled cupping her cheek, the same way he did after the Count, “Of course you’re not getting fired. Never think anyone is going to replace you ever again. This is about you… and I”  


Felicity looked up at him with traces of tears in her eyes.  
He wanted to kiss her and tell her he was in love with her and never let her go but instead he said, “Would you like to go out to dinner with me?”  
She stared at him for a few minutes and finally said, “Like a date? Like a date-date?”  
He grinned, “Yes, Felicity a date-date.”  
“Well I’ll have to check my schedule. I do have a night job you know.”  
They smiled at each other for a long time. He finally broke the heart-eyes competition when he glanced at the clock and it read after 4 AM, “You should go home it’s been a long night and I heard you have a date tomorrow night.” 

After she left, he sat down on the cot thinking about what he was going to do to make it the best date Felicity has ever been on and how maybe he would finally find out if her lips tasted as good as they looked. He drifted off to sleep thinking about his personal ray of sunshine and woke up with a smile on his face. 


	2. If falling for you, is crazy then I'm going out of my mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the date dialogue from The Calm. I do not own the dialogue nor the characters.

Felicity woke up the following morning well rested and happy. She went to make some coffee and she heard a knock on the door. Who could that be at 10 AM on a Saturday morning? She questioned. Opening the door she found herself face to face with Ray Palmer. He had bought out Tech Village where she unfortunately work now post Isabel’s takeover. Wow that was a dumb move on Oliver’s part, signing a document without reading it.

“Hello, Earth to Felicity” Ray said.  
She groaned, “What are you doing here Ray?”  
“I was just wondering, when I take over QC which I’m totally changing the name BTW,but anyway will you work for me, your talents are beyond wasted at Tech Village.”  
The nerve of that man, so assured he’s going to take Oliver’s company from him.  
“I will never work for you Mr.Palmer”, she gritted out.  
“Technically, you already do”, he smiled smugly.  
“WELL, I QUIT”, she yelled “ You can see yourself out”  
Just then there was another knock at the door. “Popular today” Ray said opening the door to leave.  
“Delivery” the voice at the door said timidly. 

A bouquet of flowers was handed to Felicity. “Oh, Oliver” she thought aloud. The note simply said “See You Soon”. She quickly found a vase to put them in, smiling to herself. She was beyond ready for this date but oddly nervous at the same time. 

Oliver wasn’t coming to pick her for several hours. He had texted her three cups of coffee in and said to ready at 8. She peaked at the clock it was only 11:30. She had to find something to occupy her time until she had to get ready.

First, she got out her tablet and look up what the flowers that he got her meant. They were Chrysanthemum (Yellow) which means “Slighted Love”. Well that’s strange she thought. Oh well Oliver probably didn’t think about flowers meanings. He probably just picked up the first ones, typical man she said aloud. Well it’s the thought that counts anyway and it was very sweet considering he was the Starling City Vigilante buying flowers for her. 

She put her tablet away and started scrubbing the kitchen floor. She laughed and said “Wow this is what Cinderella felt like”.  
By the time she looked at the clock it was nearly 2. She decided to make her a snack as a reward for her Cinderella-ish work. By the time she ate a snack and finished cleaning her town house it was only 5:00. She was getting impatient and nervous, She binged watched a few Doctor Who episodes and hoped in the shower. 

While in the shower, she stopped to think about what motivated Oliver to ask her out? Was it John? Was it because he could see how Laurel’s presence was affecting her? Was it pity? Was it because he actually wants to be with her? Was it because he doesn’t want to lose her being apart of Team Arrow so he will throw her a few bones to keep her around? Oh God she just compared herself to a dog. Stop overthinking this and just enjoy it. She hasn’t been on a date since her goth days at MIT. 

She’s just nervous she tells herself. She pops a pill to help with the nerves. She feels much calmer as she gets ready. She picks a beautiful red dress to wear, curls her hair, ditches her glasses and puts lipstick and mascara on. It is 7:30 when she finishes. Thank God because Oliver is early. Oliver Queen is early she’s quietly laughing at that fact as she opens the door. 

Oliver had been impatiently waiting all day for this moment and boy it was worth the wait. She was,scratch that is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. “You look amazing” he breathed out.  
“Thank you Mr. Queen. You look ok too”, she smiled seeing him her nerves seemed to disappear. 

The drive to the restaurant was fairly quiet, which was a little strange considering how much they said to each other on a day to day basis. She told him about Ray stopping by. She noticed he was gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white. He inquired how Palmer knew where she lived. She replied something about employ files, which was no longer an issue since she quit. 

“Felicity you don’t have to quit you can tell the owners he’s harassing you.”  
“Oh, Oliver he IS the owner. He bought the company out.”  
“Maybe The Arrow should pay him a visit.”  
She laughed, “The Arrow is you and referring to yourself as Oliver Queen or The Arrow in third person is still creepy.” 

The got seated at the table and ordered drinks, Oliver a scotch her just a water, she explained alcohol and the nerve pill she took probably won’t mix well.

“It’s crazy us being nervous. Why are we nervous?” he said after an awkward silence.  
“Well, we’ve already exhausted every topic that one would normally talk about on a first date. And a second date. And a third date. And EVERY date, actually, and I’ve already seen you shirtless. Multiple times. Shirtless all the time”,she said shyly. 

They found themselves in comfortable conversation after that. He told her he wasn’t on the island the entire time he was away, which of course wasn’t a shock to her she’s always so perceptive. He told her he decided to come home but he could not leave that part of him behind. 

“The entire time that I was gone, I could never completely trust someone. And when that goes on for so long, you stop seeing people for people. You see… threats. Or targets. And when I decided to come home, I just didn’t know how to turn that part of me off.... Then I walked into your office. You were the first person I could see as a… person. There was just something about you.”  
“Yeah, I was chewing on a pen.”  
“It was red”, he smiled at her.  
Until he said, “ Do you remember when I told that you that because of what we do, I didn’t think that… I could be with someone that I… that I could really care about?"  
“ Yeah, I remember.” How could she not it broke her heart into a million pieces.  
“So maybe I was wrong.” Those 5 words made her fall in love with him all over again. It was as if her world was whole, maybe for the first time. 

They finished dinner. They drove to the Foundry. He punched the code in and the entered,before she could question what they were doing there, Oliver spoke up, “I know this isn’t romantic or anything but it is OUR home, it’s OUR purpose and this place is what brought you and I together. So would you like to dance with me?”  
“I thought you don’t dance?”  
“Only with you.” 

They stayed there dancing for awhile then he let her go and walked over to the freezer and pulled out a tub of mint- chocolate chip ice cream and two spoons.  
“Dessert”  
“You just thought of everything Mr.Queen”, she said with a grin. 

On the drive back to her place she fell asleep. When they arrived at her townhouse Oliver woke her and walked her up to her door. Very gentlemanly, she thought, she must have said it out loud though judging by Oliver’s grin. 

“I had a wonderful time Oliver.”  
“Me too Felicity. Thank you for coming.”  
“Thank you for inviting me.”  


He kissed her. Oliver kissed her. He was kissing her and it felt so good. It wasn’t a chaste kiss. It was passionate and consuming. A kiss at least two years in the making. It wasn’t a lengthy kiss but their lips remained millimeters apart for several seconds after the kiss had ended. 

“Best first date ever” she said as she unlocked the door and disappeared inside.  
Oliver still had hands in the position he was holding her face in as she shut the door,breaking him out of his trance.

Best date ever he agreed but he needed to go work out the sense of desire that kiss had sprung up within him. He entered the Foundry where he was assaulted with memories of her and their date. 

Tomorrow he would have some flowers delivered and hopefully prove he was boyfriend material. He wanted this so much. Wanted her, wanted her to be the last person he sees before going to sleep and he her to be the first person he sees when waking up. He could do this. Be Felicity’s boyfriend, save the city, bringing Thea home, be a good Godfather to John and Lyla’s baby, be a mentor for Roy, be a good friend to Laurel, he could do anything with her by his side.


	3. I'm not perfect, but I keep trying 'Cause that's what I said I would do from the start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver talk but you know them, there's probably still gonna be miscommunication down the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and comments it really keeps me encouraged. I do not own Arrow or the characters.

Oliver woke up the next morning. First, he sent her a good morning text, then he called the flower shop to deliver flowers. The lady on the phone was telling him what kind of flowers meant. He decided on red tulips because the lady said the meant true love. He had not told her last night that he meant the I love you because the date was perfect and he didn’t want to ruin it be scaring her and by her thinking he was being insincere or saying it to get her into bed. Truth be told he had dreamed about making love to her last night and several nights before but he would not ruin this. Felicity was too important to feel like she was just another notch in his bedpost.

Felicity woke to a text from Oliver. She smiled, but of course being her she had questions. Just because they went on a date didn’t mean they were dating. Did it? Suddenly, there was a knock on the door interrupting her thoughts. “It better not be Ray Palmer again”, she said through gritted teeth. It wasn’t but it was a somewhat familiar face, the flower delivery guy from yesterday. “Someone must really like you.” She smiled politely and for the second day in a row she found a vase to put them in.  


She tore open the card, it read: Just to see you smile. Well, I can’t see it but I know it’s there and I’d do anything to make you smile -Oliver.

He was right she was smiling. She actually thought her face might get stuck in a permanent smile. She showered, dressed in jeans and tee shirt and pulled her hair up. She didn’t go all out, it was still just Oliver and she knew, or at least hoped he wouldn’t care at her outfit, hair etc. She drove to the Foundry. Since it was Sunday she was the first to arrive. John and Lyla were taking a few days of “us time” before the baby, Laurel rarely came in on Sundays because she had to work early on Monday mornings. So it was usually just her, Roy and Oliver but neither one of them were there yet. 

She heard the code being entered about ten minutes later, she took a deep breath, It’s Just Oliver she repeated over and over in her head. Oliver entered looking nervous, followed by Roy looking smug. “ Hey Oliver. Hey Roy. All quiet on the Starling front so far.” Both men looked at her amused. They were used to her saying things like that. 

Oliver started to say something but she interrupted, “Yikes spoke to soon. Sorry guys.”  
There was something going down at the bank. Oliver growled in discontent, he actually growled.  
“Don’t leave please”, he said as he disappeared out of the door. It took longer than expected, since they were down two people so it was nearly 3 am when they returned all they got was the initials “BE”, like that really helped.Felicity was asleep on his cot when he and Roy finally got back. He watched her as she slept, hopefully not in a creepy way. She was so just so beautiful. He was dead tired but he was torn on sleeping with her. It may be crossing a line but honestly he felt like would pass out the second he was horizontal so he decided to risk it.  
He toed off his boots and climbed into the cot. She stirred but didn’t wake. She curled into him her head was in his chest so he put his arm around her and it felt so right to have in his arms. He woke before she did, which was probably a good thing so he could go get breakfast and they could eat breakfast in bed like an actual couple, which was all he wanted.

Felicity woke up alone even though she knew Oliver got into her bed sometime during the night,fine technically his bed but he got into bed with her. And now he was gone. Of course, he was.She shook her head gathered up her purse and went home. She felt like she was doing the walk of shame minus the sex. Great now she’s thinking about Oliver and sex. 

When Oliver returned she was gone. Oh God, Was she uncomfortable sleeping with me? Good job Oliver you find ways to screw you even when you’re trying so hard not to, he berated himself. He couldn’t leave things like this he had to talk to her. He grabbed the muffins in case she was hungry.He sped over to her place. He didn’t want her to feel more uncomfortable but he needed to fix it. He took a deep breath to calm himself and knocked on the door. Felicity swung open the door expecting it to be that damn flower delivery guy again, she was shocked. “Ol-Ol-Oliver." 

“We need to talk”, he said immediately.  
“Yeah. what did you guys find out last night?” He was confused, so she continued, “At the bank.”  
“Oh that not important right now.” She opened her mouth to protest but instead found herself inviting him in. He held up a bag of muffins. It was her turn to be confused. “Breakfast. I went out this morning to get breakfast and coffee but I didn’t see the coffee hanging on for the ride.” She cracked a smile so he continued, “I’m sorry I made you feel uncomfortable by getting into bed with you. I was just tired and in my defense you were sleeping in my bed.”  
She smiled again, “You didn’t make me feel uncomfortable.I was very comfortable”, she paused, I knew you were there”, she said shyly. “I thought you were uncomfortable that’s why you left. And you’re right I was sleeping where you sleep , but that is most certainly not a bed mister. I’m buying you a bed, that was the most uncomfortable place I’ve ever slept and I once slept in a bathtub in college.” She snapped her mouth shut.  
He was chuckling, “I’m thinking I have to kiss you now?”  
“Well, if you have too.” 

The moment their lips touched Oliver’s phone rang.It was Roy. “What?” he gritted out. “Where are you? Turn on a tv.”  
He instructed Felicity to turn on the tv. BE stood for Brother Eye and they were on tv threatening a Cyber Attack on Starling City. Felicity was already reaching for her tablet to research.  


“Tell me everything you Roy found out last night she paused, “Give one of those muffins and let’s head to the Foundry, I can find out much more from there.”So much for a normal morning he thought.


	4. Its Worse to Finish Then to Start All Over and Never Let it Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver being Oliver...

Felicity researched “Brother Eye” for hours and came up empty at every turn. She was tired, cranky and had an extremely bad headache.  


“Felicity go home please get some rest” Oliver spoke up after seeing how frustrated she was becoming.  
“I can’t Oliver do you know what a cyber attack on the city would be? Chaos, bank records will be wiped out causing people to lose all their money, it will be bad and no offense but this isn’t your forte, this is why you brought me in and this is something only I can stop. This Brother Eye is good he’s making no mistakes but he will and I will crush him when he does.”  


“Damn Blondie did you even take a breath? Roy said.She rolled her eyes.  
“Just go for a few hours please”, Oliver pleaded.  
“Fine, 2 hours then I’m coming back and seeing this through till we’ve caught the bastard.”  
"Deal."

Felicity showered, ate and there was a knock on the door. It was flowers again. What the hell Oliver? she thought. I’m totally having a talk with him about this when I get back to the Foundry.  


The note was in binary code it read: 011100011 01101111 01101111 01101110 SOON

She got to the Foundry 10 minutes later, John was there. She gave him a hug and went straight to her computer. 

When there was a lull in the action,running updates, she said, “Oliver I didn’t know you knew Binary Code?”  
“I don’t even know what that means”  
“Oh…ok then"  
“Fe-li-ci-ty, what is that?”  
“ Well I kinda get some flowers today and I assumed it was you since sent the them the last two times, which was super sweet by the way.”  
He cut her off, “I don’t know what you’re talking about I only sent flowers to you yesterday. I’ve never sent flowers to anyone before yesterday.”  
“I can attest to that”, Laurel said bitterly.  
“ Oh well I just assumed it was you, it was probably Ray trying to butter me up so I’ll go to work for him.”  
She saw Oliver out of the corner of her eyes rubbing his thumb and forefinger together.  
“Ok back to work.”, she said after a few tense minutes.

Everyone else went home for the night leaving her and Oliver alone.  
“What did the card say Felicity?”  
“Cards, plural.”  
“Ok what did the cards say?”  
“See you soon, and Soon in Binary Code. Why?”  
“I need you to leave.”  
“We’ve already established, I’m not leaving until we get Brother Eye. If I get sleepy I’ll just crash here.”  
“Felicity, no I NEED you to leave for good.”  
“You’re not making any sense.”  
“I have a bad feeling about those notes. I honestly don’t think they’re from Palmer.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because if Palmer wanted to buy you he’s rich enough to do more than a couple of bouquets of flowers, he’d buy you like a car or a fancy dress or something.”  
“Who the hell do you think sent them then?”  
“Slade”, he whispered.  
“Oliver, you’re being paranoid.”  
“Damn right I am. I have a bad feeling and I can’t lose you. You need to leave and not come back. You’ll be safer if you stay the hell away from me.”  
“ That’s ridiculous Oliver.”  
“No Felicity, you’re not welcome here anymore. Go live your life far away from me…. Just go.”  


Tears are running down her face and he wants nothing more than to wipe them away, tell her he didn’t mean it and beg her to stay, instead he turns his back because he is disgusted with himself. He hates breaking her heart but if it keeps her safe he’ll do it.  


She finally says, “Fine. You say you can’t lose me, well guess what you just did.”, she says through the tears.  
He hears her running up the stairs and slamming the door, that’s when he finally breaks down. 

Felicity sits in her car for nearly an hour just waiting for him to run out and say he didn’t mean it. Finally, she realized he wasn’t going to so she went home to crack up a bottle of wine and eat her weight in mint chocolate chip ice cream. When she woke the next morning she was hoping it was all a bad dream but her wine hangover proved it wasn’t. She had a missed call but not from Oliver. It was from Ray Palmer, he said Oliver relinquished the company to him and he was hoping she had changed her mind about working for him. 

She showered, got dressed and headed to QC. She was going to take him up on his offer, partly because she needed a job but mostly to stick it to Oliver. She set some ground rules with Ray and told him she would start Friday, she needed a few days to wallow before she could put on a happy face and pretend to be fine. 

That afternoon Dig,Roy and Laurel entered a Felicity missing Foundry and a broody Oliver. They all thought it was odd it was very unlike Felicity to be late.  


Laurel was the first one to speak up, “Where’s Felicity?”  
”She’s gone.”  
“Gone where?”, Dig ask while the others froze.   
“Not here. Not coming back.”  
“I thought she was the one that said, "I will not rest until Brother Eye is caught”, Laurel said mockingly.  
“ We’ll just have to catch him without her.”  
“Like we ever could”, Roy muttered.  
“We’re gonna have to because she left ok”, Oliver yelled causing them all to stare.  
Dig looked at Laurel and Roy and they left the room so Dig and Oliver could talk and he could find out what was really going on. 

“Talk to me Oliver.”  
“There’s nothing to talk about, she’s gone so we need to figure this out without her.”  
“Oliver, what happened?”  
“The flowers”,he whispered but Dig heard him anyway.  
“You guys had a fight because Palmer sent her flowers. That’s stupid, she can’t control what he does.”  
“It wasn’t Palmer and I have a really bad feeling.”  
“How do you know it wasn’t him?”  
“ I have a weird feeling, I can’t explain it. I think it was Slade.”  
“Impossible we locked Slade up.”  
“Fine someone working for him then.”  
“That doesn’t explain why she isn’t here, you guys have had fights before and this is a big case and Roy’s right we can’t do it without her.”  
“ I sent her away told her she wasn’t welcome here anymore.”  
“What the hell man?",Dig was beyond angry.  
“She’s safer away from me.”  
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth. Call her. Tell her you’re a dumbass, you weren’t thinking straight, anything.”  
“I can’t. I told her I can’t lose her and she told me I already had. She will never forgive me but you know what I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her because of me, so HELL YES I SENT HER AWAY.” 

Just at that moment Laurel and Roy were coming down the stairs. “You did what you son of a bitch”, Roy yelled.  


Dig and Roy were pissed, even Laurel looked a twinge upset but nothing they felt could compare to the hatred and disgust he was feeling toward himself.


	5. It's All Too Late to Set Things Straight 'Cause Everything Has Been

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's missing,someone returns...

One week it had one long, painful week since he had heard her voice. He was so angry with himself, and he wasn’t the only one the team was freezing him out too, not that he blamed them. Felicity wasn’t just his heart, his light… she was the whole team’s. To make matters worse none of them had heard from her either.He found that odd, he figured she would have a least answered Dig’s calls or texts but no she had not. Laurel was even really upset, granted some of it probably had to do with the fact she was relegated to com duty, but some of the concern did seem genuine. Roy was the worst.He and Felicity had grown close. When Thea took off they had Roylicity nights (her words) once a week, now she wasn’t speaking to Roy and it was all his fault. He was simply lost without her but he knew he was not good for her, so he stayed away. It was bad news on the Brother Eye front as well. Roy was right, they were useless without her.

On Monday morning he got a call from Ray Palmer, he thought why is Palmer calling me he has my company and my girl what else does he want. He was going to let it go to voicemail, but his gut told him to answer it. Turns out his gut was right about the flowers too.

“Palmer what is it? I’m a little busy.”  
“Mr.Queen. I understand that you’re busy well no I don’t actually because you don’t have a company to run anymore.”  
Oliver rolled his eyes. “Is there a point to this call?”,Oliver said bitterly.  
“Have you heard from Felicity?” Oliver’s blood ran cold at his question.  
“Not in a few days” he finally replied. “What’s this about?”  
“Um.. well, I assume she informed you that she was going to come work for me” Oliver gripped the phone tight. That makes sense, since she hates me now.  
Oliver sighed, “Well she said that she would start on Friday. She never showed up. Now she isn’t here today either, so I went by her place. I knocked several times, when she didn’t come to the door I was going to pick her door lock, not as creepy as it sounds.Anyway, the door was unlocked so I thought she was home, I searched all the rooms but she was nowhere to be found and the strangest thing was her phone and keys were on the table.”Oliver listened intently but could hardly believe it. 

She has been taken. And it was all his fault, I should have sent her away sooner. I should never used her as bait, letting Slade know I love her. Of course he would find away to take her from me like he thinks I took Shado from him. I should have killed the bastard. I will kill the bastard. Oh God, Felicity I’m so sorry. I failed you, I promised to keep you safe and I didn’t do that. I should have never brought you into this. I should have never fell in love with you. I will find you if it’s the last thing I do.

“Mr. Queen. Hello. Are you still there?” He has to tell him something.  
“Yes Palmer. I’m here. We uh we had a fight… I’m sure she probably went to her mom’s for a few days. She probably left her phone because I’ve been calling her. I’ll check on her and tell her you were concerned for her. I really appreciate the call Ray.”  
“Uh.. yeah, no problem. I hope you guys work it out soon I don’t like to see a beautiful girl sad.” Oliver ended the call and threw his phone across the room. Three pairs of eyes turned to him waiting for an explanation. 

“She’s been taken” was all he could get out.  
He was bombarded with questions. How long?What exactly did Palmer say? Why? He answered the questions the best he could without completely breaking down, but when he got to the why? he looked at Dig and couldn’t hold it back anymore. The tears flowed freely and for the first time all week Roy looked at him without angry and with complete understanding. 

******************************************************************************************************

“Dig, I have to go alone. Please stay here and try to find something, anything.”  
“We will” Roy said, Laurel and Dig nodded in agreement.  
“We’ll find her Ollie. Be careful.”  
“Yeah, man we’re not giving up. Talk to Slade, beat it out of him if you have to.”  


At that exact moment Thea walked down the stairs.  
“Uh. Malcolm told me but I didn’t believe him”, she looking around the room.  
“Malcolm?” Laurel questioned.  
“Yeah he’s my father, he’s alive, he’s who I’ve been with this whole time.”  


“Where you going Ollie?”  
“Thea,I love you I’m so glad you’re back. I know you’re angry I didn’t tell you this”, he waves his hands around the room,”We’ll talk about it when I get back, but right now the woman I love is in danger and I have to find her.”  
Thea gasped,looking at Laurel but quickly realizing he wasn’t talking about her.  
She could see he was scared, so she hugged him and whispered in his ear, “I love you Ollie. I’m not angry, and you’re a hero. Go help your girl. I’ll be here when you get back.” 

By the time he made it to Lian Yu it was dark, but he knew the island like the back of his hand, so he had no problem making it to the prison. When he approached Slade’s cell he seemed to be sleeping but Oliver could care less he was going to tell him where Felicity was and he was going to tell him right now. 

“Kid, lovely to see you. What brings you by?”  
“Crap the crap Slade. You know why I’m here. Where.Is.Felicity?”  
“How would I know I’m locked in this cell?”  
“You took her or had some take her and you know it.”  
“You’re barking up the wrong tree kid, besides The Arrow has more enemies than just me.”  


He could tell Slade was telling him the truth, He slammed his fist into the wall mentally making a list of all his enemies.  
He turned to leave and Slade said,” Maybe you should consider it isn’t one of our enemies at all, perhaps it’s on one of hers.  
Slade’s words echoed in his mind all the back to Starling City….

”Perhaps it’s on one of hers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you reading and comments and kudos encourage me as well so thank you. Just a quick note Thea did not kill Sara in this story, in fact I doubt the LOA will even make an appearance in this story. 
> 
> Return of Brother Eye in next chapter.


	6. Cling to What You Know and Never Let Go, You Should Know Things Aren't Always What They Seem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story time and extra help

“What did Slade say?”, Dig asked the moment he walked through the door.  
“Nothing helpful”  
Thea was sitting in Felicity’s chair, it felt so wrong to see someone else in HER chair.  
“I found something”,Thea said excitedly. Oliver rushed over to the computer.  
“Well, I mean it’s just a name for now. She could have done better”, Thea trailed off. Apparently the team had filled Thea in on how remarkable Felicity is, while he was gone.  


“Myron Forest. I don’t have much. Just that he graduated for MIT in ‘09”  
Dig,Oliver and Roy exchanged looks.  
“Didn’t Felicity go to MIT?, Laurel asked.  
“Yes. Thank you Speedy, you helped a lot.”  
She smiled at the compliment and said, “I’ll keep digging.”  


“I got an address”,she said proudly half an hour later.  
“Let’s go”, he told Roy, grabbing his bow.  
He and Roy suited up in record time and were out the door.

**************************************************************************

“Who’s there? Myron said.  
Oliver stood in the shadows,bow drawn, “Where is Felicity Smoak?”  
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since college.”  
“You’re lying.”  
“No I swear. Last I heard she is working at some fancy cooperation, QC I think. If Cooper could see her now, he’d be so pissed.”  
“Who’s Cooper?”  
“My roommate in college, he was also Felicity’s boyfriend.They used to screw like bunnies. It's a wonder they got an school work done  


He cringed at the thought of another man touching her. Sure, he was being hypocritical seeing as how he had screwed his way through Starling City. But, that is his Felicity.  


“Why are you so interested in Felicity?”  
“That’s my business”,he said angrily.  
“Is it the Brother Eye thing?”  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I was curious so I hacked into the SCPD files. That’s her code Brother Eye is using. I don’t know where she is but can tell you she’s your culprit.”  
“She didn’t do this. I know her.”  
“Where can I find this Cooper?”  
“6 foot under. He’s dead. Maybe you don’t know Felicity as well as you think you do.”  
“I know her better than anyone. Could you find her given the right tools?”  
“I could, but I won’t. I don’t want anything to do with this. My hacking days are over, Besides she was the best one of the three of us.”  


When he and Roy got back to the Foundry, he was still trying to wrap his head around what Myron said.  
“She is being set up.”  
Everyone agreed, even Laurel. “What do we do now?”  
“Call Palmer. He’s the only other genius I know.”  
“Oliver, I get it he’s a genius but you’re just going to let him in on your secret on the off chance he has the ability to help us find Felicity.”  
“IT’S FELICITY,JOHN.”  


Oliver texted Ray in the morning, gave him the address and said for Ray to meet him.  
Oliver waited upstairs for Palmer to arrive. Ray could go to the police but that was a risk he was willing to take for Felicity.  


“Mr. Queen, what is this about?”  
“Thank for meeting me. It’s Felicity. I sort of lied to you the other day, now I’m going to tell you the truth, but first I need to trust you and trust that anything you see or hear you will keep to yourself.”  
“Uh..yeah I can do that.”  


“Good, I need your help… Felicity is missing, she has been taken and I need your help to find her.”  
“But you said…”  
“We really did have a fight that was true. I thought a enemy of mine was after her so I sent her away to protect her, as it turns out it wasn’t someone from my past that took her it was someone from her past and I need to find her.”  
“Sure, I’ll help anyway I can, but uh if you need help what are we doing at a club.”  
“You’ll see. He punched the code on and descended down the stairs Ray right behind him, he flicked on the lights.  
Ray was clearly shocked, eyes flitting around the room. “You’re him”, he finally said.  
“Yeah, will you still help me?”  
“Of course. I’ll help you find your girl.”  


She’ll always be my girl, he thought sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I would make Ray useful. It might be believable that he can find information out or Thea for that matter but someone has to find her.
> 
> Next up: Felicity and Cooper


	7. You're Not the Person I Knew Back Then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity meets a ghost from the past plus Mama Smoak

Felicity woke up with the worst headache that she’d ever had in her life. She wasn’t hungover yet it felt as if she’d be hit over the head with a baseball bat. Wait where was she? How did she get her? All she could see was dark, when she tried to move she found she could not because her hand was cuffed to a bedpost. What the hell? Think Felicity think. Oh God was Oliver right? Was it Slade? She didn’t think so, something about her captor seemed familiar, and not Slade familiar, she couldn’t put her finger on it though. She has to get out of here, wherever here is. She hoped Oliver was looking for her, was coming for her but how would he even know she was missing.  


She had been avoiding the whole team since he blowup with Oliver, she knew it was wrong to avoid them simply because she was upset with him. Yet, every call or text from Dig or Roy stung, maybe it was because Oliver himself had not tried to contact her. Or maybe Roy and Dig were a reminder of what she no longer had. They both still had the team,the team she was no longer part of. Her family. Oliver. So she was jealous of John and Roy, that why she was avoiding them. Now how were any of them supposed to know she was missing. They would probably think she was still avoiding them. 

No, Oliver will know something’s wrong. He had a bad feeling so eventually he will find her. How long until eventually though? How long has she even been missing?

************************************************************************************************** 

5 Days Earlier…. 

Time to suck it up and stop wallowing Smoak. 

She was starting back working tomorrow. It was to be weird to go to QC and not see Oliver. No thinking about Oliver. Watch another episode of Doctor Who, then hit the sheets, she told herself. 

About half way through the episode she heard a knock at the door, “It better not be no fucking flowers”,she says out loud jerking the door open.  
“Nope, no flowers this time”, said the masked man at the door.  


Before she could react she was shot with a dart. The world around her was getting blurry before it completely faded to black. She had been floating in and out of consciousness ever since. She assumed she was getting fed but with the drugs she was being pumped there was no way to be certain. 

****************************************************************************************************** 

She was getting answers right now. 

“Hey, whoever took me I wanna know why? If it’s because of Oliver you should we are not together, so you can just send me on home and find someone he really loves to take for your revenge plan.”  
Great, she just sold out Thea or Laurel or Sara what the hell was wrong with her.  
“I was just kidding but if you could let go that would be great. I need a shower.” 

The door opened and a voice said,“We could always shower together like we used to.”  
Felicity didn’t have her glasses on but she knew that voice plain as day. “Cooper” she choked out.  
“Here babe. Your glasses. I’ll let you get a good look at me.”  
She jerked her glasses out of his hand, put them on and nearly passed out from the shock.  


“This is impossible you--you--are dead”, she whispered.  
“Lis, babe do I look dead to you?” 

“The flowers?”  
He smiled wickedly. “Oliver was right. 

Oh God, I’m so stupid. He’s so stupid”,she muttered to herself, but Cooper heard every word.  


“Oliver, Oliver, Oliver, shut the fuck up about Oliver, or he’ll be the next one to die.”  
Felicity gasped, “What happened to you Coop? This isn’t you.”  


“Cliff notes; went to jail, got recruited by the NSA, they faked my death,spent 5 years with them, learned some things, got recruited again by another organization and now you and I will be unstoppable Lis.”  


“Brother Eye, that’s you.”  
He smiled smugly, “And you. Your code.”  
“Best part Myron is our fall guy. Nothing can be traced back to us.”  
She frowned, “You’re crazy if you think that I’d ever agree to do something like this.”  
“DO NOT CALL ME CRAZY”, he shouted.  
“Ok I won’t but I am going to decline politely.”  


“No you’re not once you see my surprise. Look who I found in Vegas.”  
Felicity whipped her head around to see her mother being held at gunpoint. 

“Oh God, mom”,she said tears starting to fall.  
“I’ll give you ladies a minute to catch up”,he said as the guard roughly shoved her mother into the room.  


“I’d hug you but I’m a little tied up.”  
“Oh honey. How are we going to get out of this one?”  
“Don’t worry mom. I have friends that are going to be looking for me, they’ll find us. Oliver always comes for me.”  
“You have friends?”,her mother ask incredulously.  
“That’s what you took from what I said.”  
“And a boyfriend? I’m so proud of you.”  
Felicity sighed and muttered, “Oliver’s not my boyfriend.” 

Cooper came back with a tray of food, “Since you’ve been good little girls, you get to have some good food, just like the old days babe. I’m gonna uncuff you Lis, but remember just because we used to screw don’t mean I won’t use this gun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: Someone makes contact with Felicity(by accident) and Ray is one step closer to finding out who took her. Any guesses on the other organization that recruited Cooper?


	8. I'm Not Alive If I'm Lonely, So Please Don't Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone talks to Felicity.

After their meal they were separated again, she guessed so they could conspire a way out. Little did Cooper know they already had. Felicity was just waiting for the right moment.

“Mom did Cooper take your phone?”  
“He searched me, I told him I didn’t have it, when he couldn’t find it he gave up.”  
She discreetly slid her phone to Felicity.  
“Where was it?”  
“In my underwear”, Felicity made a face, “Hey at least I had to foresight to hide it, maybe you can call your friends and that boyfriend can come rescue us.” 

She had spent the last ten minutes telling her mother that Oliver was not her boyfriend, but for some reason she wasn’t buying it. 

“Hey Coop”, she called out to him after her mother was dragged away, “So you said another organization, which one?”  
“Nice try babe. I will tell you they want you nearly as badly as I do.” He ran his hand down her cheek. A tear fell down her face, all she could think about was Oliver cupping her cheek whenever she was upset. She wished he was there to do it now.  
“Relax babe. I didn’t mean it like that, although… I may be a bastard but I can wait till you’re begging for me,which will probably be sooner than later”, he said with a smirk.

She could not wait to get out of this place,away from Cooper, back to the team, back to Oliver. He was not going to push her away again. She would not let him. She would him see that he was wrong, it wasn’t because of him it was because of her. Then, she turned her thoughts back to Cooper’s words, they want you nearly as badly as I do. What the hell did that mean? Who was they? Would Oliver get to her in time? She finally fell asleep with all these thought rolling around in her brain. 

****************************************************************************************

“Tell me what you’ve got Ray”, Oliver was yelling he was getting impatient.  
It at least a week since she went missing,maybe more. Why didn’t he sent Roy and Dig to check on her? He could have least done that. He could tell Dig was beating himself up about that too. He had called her a million times,but never once went by her place and it was killing him. 

Lyla was doing everything she could with the help of ARGUS. Waller did not want to help, but Oliver called in his favors. Lyla was running point on the case even though she could go into labor any day now. That’s how much everyone loved Felicity. No one could bare the thought of losing her for good, but he could not lose her.

There is no Oliver Queen without Felicity Smoak, and when he got her back he was going to let her know that. 

“I followed a hunch and looked into this Myron guy story. Cooper got arrested by the FBI for illegal hacking and spreading a virus which is the Brother Eye virus that’s being used now, Felicity was also questioned, but he pled guilty. Only three people knew about the virus Myron,Cooper and Felicity. He said, Cooper killed himself in prison so he’s either a big,fat liar or it’s Felicity.” 

“IT’S NOT FELICITY”, Oliver yelled. 

“I know that so that brings us back to big,fat liar. But, if is lying about one thing he may be lying about something else”,Oliver stared at Ray not putting 2 and 2 together, “He could be lying about Felicity’s boyfriend being dead.”  


“If he killed himself in prison there has to a record of it”,Laurel jumped in the conversation.  
She went over to the computer to do a search. “I see no record of him ever even being in prison.”  
“But the paper said he was arrested and sentenced.  
“I smell a cover up”, she stated. 

Oliver had to get out of there. The flowers? The Binary Code? It all made sense now. Fuck. He ran up the stairs, through the club and out into the fresh air. He had to get out of there, so he hopped on his bike and just drove. Somehow he ended up in front of Felicity’s place. Logically, he knew she wasn’t there but he needed to be close to her, and being around her stuff might dull the pain for a minute. 

He turned the doorknob and was taken back with the vividness of the memories of the last time he was here. It took his breath away, it like she was there and he could touch her. But, of course she wasn’t he felt the tears swell up within him. He looked over and saw her phone for reasons he couldn’t explain he picked it up. 

He thought for one second,maybe just maybe the story he had told Ray could be true. It couldn’t hurt to try right? He scrolled through her contacts till he found her mom’s number and hit the green button. It rang twice and then someone answered, not just someone, Felicity. 

“Oliver”  
“Felicity”  


He could not believe it. He heard Felicity’s voice for the first time in nearly two weeks. God, he missed that voice. God, he missed her. He loved her and when she got home he was gonna show her how much and make sure she knew it every single day. He noticed the beeping of the phone surely, noting a low battery, he did not want to be cut off so he ran to the bedroom, which he assumed was where the charger was. He assumed right. He plugged it in, put it on speaker and waited until he heard that beautiful voice of hers. 

When the phone rang Felicity couldn’t believe it. It was Oliver, of course it was Oliver.As soon as she heard him say her name in the way only he did, tears of joy filled her eyes. She had to be quick before Cooper noticed. She felt relief then panic,she had no idea where the hell her and her mother were. There wasn’t even a hint she could give him because she had not left this one room. But then she heard it again, her name and suddenly the only thing that mattered was hearing his voice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos, they keep me motivated.
> 
> Up next- the conversation


End file.
